CUP: Winners & Losers

Sprint Cup

CUP: Winners & Losers - Talladega

Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer formed a successful pairing at Talladega while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton tangled...

Jeff Owens | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted November 01, 2010 Talladega, AL

Juan Pablo Montoya (Pictured) pushed Clint Bowyer to victory Sunday at Talladega. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The points leaders all survived Talladega, setting up a three-driver, three-race battle for the championship in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

But Juan Pablo Montoya and David Reutimann were unsung heroes, pushing the winner and the runnerup to the front.

The big losers were the drivers who worked their way to the front, only to the see their hopes of winning dashed with bad breaks and bad luck.

WINNERS

Clint Bowyer – Thrilling victory gives him two wins in Chase, easing hurt over penalty that knocked him out of championship contention. Fitting that he edged teammate Kevin Harvick after giving Harvick his pit crew last week.

Kevin Harvick – Remarkable comeback after wreck damaged nose of his car. Almost won and gained significant ground on points leaders Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

Jimmie Johnson – Survived the race he feared most, and actually padded his points lead by finishing seventh, two spots ahead of ninth-place Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin – Lost a few points, but survived Talladega. Now he’s poised to race Johnson for the title at tracks where he believes he has an edge.

VIDEO: Cup - Talladega Clint Bowyer wins. (Image: SPEED)

Juan Pablo Montoya – Stayed up front all day and pushed Bowyer to victory. Strongest run in a while for a driver who has had a disappointing season.

David Reutimann – Provided the big push for several drivers, including Harvick. It paid off with a fifth-place finish.

LOSERS

Jeff Burton – Had a fast car and led 11 laps, but bump by Dale Earnhardt Jr. sent him into the wall and ruined his chances.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Led 24 laps and had one of the cars to beat until his ill-timed bump-draft ruined the day for him and Burton. At least he took the blame and apologized.

AJ Allmendinger – Ending the race on his roof just added insult to injury for Allmendinger and his beleaguered Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Jeff Gordon – Finished eighth, but was out front late when he thought his engine was blowing up. Gave up lead and fell back in the pack before discovering that his engine was OK.

Tony Stewart – Lost two laps with an early flat tire and spent the rest of the day getting them back. Never got a chance to race for the win and finished 16th.

Roush Fenway Racing – Matt Kenseth led 13 laps and teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle both made late charges to the front. But they wound up finishing 16th, 17th and 19th, respectively, after getting shuffled back at the end.

Jeff Burton (31) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) draft together before eventually tangling in Sunday's race at Talladega. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Kyle Busch – Pushed teammate Denny Hamlin to the front and was in position to win, but wound up 25th in late shuffle.

Jamie McMurray – Defending race winner led four laps and was in contention until he slapped the wall, damaging his car and leading to a 36th-place finish.

COOL-DOWN LAP

“It’s not the most fun run I’ve ever had, but it’s Talladega. It’s one of those things. I hate this place. I always have and always will.” – AJ Allmendinger

“Me and Jimmie got hooked up together and drove all the way to the front. I started experiencing some weird things inside the car. It was kind of vibrating. There was a lot of smoke and it smelled like oil. I thought the engine was getting ready to blow up so he shuffled me out. From that point on, we just kind of fought back.” – Jeff Gordon

“Things just didn’t go our way there at the very end. It seemed like we could be pretty competitive in exactly the right spot, but I had a real hard time maneuvering and I’d get stalled out real bad.” – Matt Kenseth

“Everything was going as planned that last lap. We needed to run that last lap because we were marching forward, but we didn’t wreck the car and that’s OK, but we just needed that last lap.” – Carl Edwards

"This is one of those places where a lot of people leave upset and a few leave happy. We're pretty happy with our [car] - it was a pretty good car. We could lead, we could push really good, but circumstances at the end - it just didn't work out for us.” Kyle Busch crew chief Dave Rogers

SceneDaily.com • Jimmie Johnson survives Talladega to maintain points lead, but Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick remain close

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Owens

SceneDaily.com

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